Lissie was last in line down the stairs. She only had one hand, and Riley insisted they hold hands as they went down. And Riley was leading with her sword drawn.
I don’t know what good that will do.
Niko’s hand was in hers, and she could feel his slow steps as he went down the stairs sideways. He had to duck his head as he went too. The staircase was short and narrow.
The music was getting louder. Alexander kept muttering somewhere up ahead. She thought he was third in line behind Cora, but she didn’t know how long they had been descending.
How long have we been in here?
She didn’t feel hungry or thirsty.
Has it been less than an hour? I should be thirsty.
She swallowed. It felt longer than an hour. It felt longer than a day. She squeezed Niko’s hand.
A gust of wind? From where? It smelled like smoke. Like hot clay.
Down and down they climbed. Lissie followed Niko’s cold hand. It was getting warmer.
Riley shouted and the sound was loud and clear. “We made it!” Quieter, she continued, “I can hear myself.”
Lissie walked the last few steps and felt the space open up around her that she could not see. Beneath her feet the floor felt slick, like tiles. She rubbed a toe along it and it caught in the grout.
That will be easier to score. If we can hear, maybe I can see.
She closed her eyes and opened them. She saw her friends, she saw the silhouettes of where the flames should be inside of them. But they were twisted, and black. Black against the blackness, faces writhing in agony, screaming in ecstasy. She closed her eyes again and shook her head clear of the images. They lingered on her eyelids, like burned spots.
Ruskin barked and Lissie smiled. Alexander said, “Hullaboo, hullaboo, I don’t see you.”
Cora laughed and said, “I don’t think there are any frogs to sing to.”
The skittering came again, and the sound of something heavy and metal clattering to the tile. The skittering went on for a long time. Lissie held Niko’s hand and no one spoke.
“Right, well, they are afraid of us.” Riley said, “With good reason.” Lissie knew her hand was on her sword hilt. If it wasn’t still drawn.
Cora sounded bright. “This should be a lot easier. We can hear each other now. Someone should stay here so we don’t lose the entrance. That way we can send out two groups of two with ropes. Alex, you still have rope?”
“Rope and twine and chain and all the years of pain.” His voice marched like a funeral dirge.
“Yes, well, we just need two lines. The longest you have.” Lissie could hear the frown in Cora’s voice. “Someone stays here and memorizes where everyone else has gone.”
Riley scoffed, “Let’s all think about who has the best memory.”
“It has to be you, Cora.” Lissie was thinking about geometry, trying to remember the way to find the area around a circle. At least Cora would know.
“I didn’t want to presume.” Cora sounded prim.
Alexander rifled through his packs again and declared, “With Niko somewhat fallen, I shall go with the girl who chops hands off.” His voice rose at that.
Riley muttered, “It was just one hand.” She continued, bolder, “And it was to save your sorry hide.”
“You will save it again! But not a third time. I hope.” Alexander was starting to sound unwell.
Lissie’s chest tightened. She was glad to go with Niko.
“You and me again.” Niko’s voice was soft.
She stroked his wrist with her thumb. “You and me again,” Lissie replied.
“What’s the plan, Cora? How do you want us to do this?” Riley asked.
“Count your steps.” Cora sounded efficient. “Each of you goes in different directions along the walls. Call back anything unusual, and how many steps it was. I’m utilizing a strategic depth-first exploration. Once we know how many exits there are, we will start pursuing them one by one.”
Niko led Lissie along the wall, it brushed her left shoulder. Niko placed the rope in her hand and wrapped his big hand around hers. He counted the paces out loud, at a whisper.
After thirty, they found the first tunnel. Lissie called out, “Thirty, tunnel.”
“How does it smell?” Cora asked.
Lissie poked her head into the opening and sniffed the air. “It smells like… Jasmine.”
Niko took a deep breath beside her. “It smells like scat.”
Lissie took another breath, it smelled like her mother’s Gallian soaps.
“That’s very interesting,” Cora said.
She heard Riley’s voice, “Forty. Tunnel.”
Cora asked what it smelled like and Riley replied, “Stropping oil.”
Alexander called out, “Ozone. Like the air before a storm. Or during that fun experiment in Terndowns.”
Niko continued, and Lissie followed. Another tunnel at fifty paces. They both agreed that this one smelled like woodsmoke.
They were nearing the end of the rope, when Lissie’s foot kicked something. It skittered across the tile. She followed the sound without thinking and let go of the rope. Her hand felt along the floor and a blade in the dark cut her fingers. “I found something sharp over here.”